Feeding Guidlines

Question:
Thank you, I received my order. I am trying out the food. You included a sample of the Epigen and I bought the special on Archetype food. The cats love the Epigen! And slowly the Arch. What I want to know is: I have read the new Epigen may be high on protein...but it's a very high percentage of plant protein which is not what carnivores are intended to eat. Can you give me the percentage of protein that is plant based as well as meat based?

Answer:
The majority is meat based; we cannot give specifics because that is proprietary. Keep in mind that the protein amino acids in meats are identical to the amino acids in plants.

Question:
Presently, my cats enjoy Go Natural and Orijen...leaning more towards Go Natural...I'm thinking because of the higher protein.

Answer:
These are both starch-based products.

Question:
I have not been very successful getting them to eat whole foods since they were raised mostly on dry with wet canned supplementing this. It's only in recent years that I have learned the importance of a wet food diet for cats in particular because they tend to stay dehydrated...even with water at their disposal.

Answer:
Cats have the ability to metabolize protein into water, which is another advantage of the high protein diet.

Question:
The cats are 17-years-old and the two sisters are 6 & 6-1/2 lbs...the brother is 7...Burmese. They have always been healthy but are getting far too skinny.

Answer:
Be sure to have a stool sample tested for parasites.

Question:
I've been able to beef them up somewhat on the dry food I've listed....and all the canned they want. I'm introducing liver and I bought your PDG and F-Biotic...for them.

For my dog, who is on raw food (whole pieces of meat) I bought the Call of the Wild.

He tended to chew his front paws and get skin lesions when on processed food.

Any kind. He's been totally healthy since I've switched except I do notice he'll wake up from a nap to chew his front paw....this is since adding the supplement ...Call of the Wild. Could he be allergic to this since it is processed???

Answer:
Allergies can be cause by any food whether or not it is processed. Be sure to vary the diet.

Question:
I really like the idea of giving it to him since I don't have the opportunity to give him an entire prey animal. He does get plenty of bone, since he consumes entire chicken pieces...but not the variety of internal organs that come with a prey animal...thus the supplement. I know the Raw Feeding group thinks that supplements are completely unnecessary...and I agree...if you have the time and resources to get a total prey within a month's serving of food.

Answer:
We agree only if the pet can be released into the wild to subsist totally on what it chooses to eat.

Otherwise, supplements are a safe insurance policy. They also help replenish nutrients that may have been deficient for years, and from raw ingredients that are deficient from being grown in modern circumstances.

Question:
How many calories are in the Call of the Wild as well as the PDG and F-Biotic?

Answer:
The calories are approximately 11 per teaspoon in each of the above supplements. But it is an error to focus at all on calories. The form of the food is most important. See the Epigen website: http://www.wysongepigen.net/.

Question:
I am assuming plenty of calories for the last two...thus I am dusting the dry food with it for the CATS. They do look awfully similar...and now I am thinking I could have just gotten the F-Biotic? What is your opinion? Is one more appealing to cats then another?

Answer:
PDG may be more appealing, but testing them both will give the best answer.

Question:
We were looking at the protein and fat content. Why is it that the new Epigen 90 still only has 60 protein the same as the Epigen. Since you are using more meat wouldn't the protein and fat content be more. If not what is really the difference between the both. We were thinking that the 90 would have alot more protein in it. Do you know what the carbohydrate content is.

The other question we feed our dogs raw but have tried the Epigen and they seem alittle gassy. Is there anything we can add or do to prevent this.

Answer:
As for the protein content, keep in mind that muscle meat has a finite percent of protein and fat, so no matter how much meat you put in, it provides only about 60% protein and about 13% fat.

Other than meat and organ glycogen and plant fibers, there is no carbohydrate in Epigen™. There are no starch ingredients as in all other dry diets.

Adjusting from one diet to another is often accompanied by stool changes, and thirty days or more may be required in some cases to reach a balance. Supplementing with a Wysong Biotic™ Supplement, Pet Inoculant™ or live, active-culture yogurt and cottage cheese should help to keep the digestive tract balanced. Epigen has these factors, but your may require a bit more for the transition.

Also, feeding smaller amounts at the beginning and gradually working up is a good idea with any new food.